Torta Ahogada

This Torta ahogada recipe is a crusty bread torta filled with refried beans and avocado, and drowned in a spicy chile de arbol salsa. Recipe from Vegan Mexico Cookbook.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Prep Time 25

Total Time 25

Servings tortas

Calories 807kcal

Author Jason Wyrick

Ingredients

Tortas:

2 Bolillo rolls or 6-inch long baguettes split in half about 3/4 of the way
1 cup Refried beans, using black beans or store-bought refried black beans
1 Ripe Hass avocado, pitted, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices

Sauce: (WARNING: See note)

30 Chiles de árbol, stemmed, seeded and rehydrated
3 Cloves of garlic
¾ cup White vinegar (white balsamic works best)
1 cup Water
1 tsp. Dried Mexican oregano
½ tsp. Ground cumin
½ tsp. Freshly ground black pepper
⅛ tsp. Ground cloves
1 tsp. Salt

Garnishes:

2 Radishes, thinly sliced
8 to 12 White pickled onions, separated into rings, or raw white onion rings (see note)
Lime wedges

Instructions

Tortas

Lightly toast the rolls or baguettes. Warm the beans and spread them evenly in each roll. Add the avocado slices. Place the sandwiches in bowls.

Sauce:

In a blender or food processor, puree the rehydrated chiles de árbol, garlic, vinegar, water Mexican oregano, cumin, pepper, cloves, and salt. (Strain if you want a very smooth sauce.) Pour the sauce over the sandwiches. Garnish the sandwiches with the sliced radishes and pickled onions and serve with lime wedges. Eat these tortas with a fork and lots of napkins.

Notes

WARNING: This sandwich is hot, really hot! For a less spicy version omit the water and add 1 to 3 cups of crushed fire-roasted tomates to the salsa and omit or decrease the chiles de árbol to your taste.

Another option is to make two sauces, a non-spicy tomato sauce and the chile de árbol sauce. This way you can drown your torta in the non-spicy tomato sauce and drizzle some of the árbol sauce on top.

You can find a recipe for pickled onions here and one for refried beans here.

Nutrition